Chlorinators Shortage Poses Health Hazards

Chlorinators Shortage Poses Health Hazards

Chlorinators shortage poses health hazards

THE Water and Sanitation Agency (WASA) is facing a shortage of chlorinators and is unable to purege water of germs which usually increase in the monsoon posing a serious threat to health of the citizens.

Sources in the WASA claimed that the agency was facing a shortage of over 100 chlorinators while at several tube wells it had made temporary arrangements and the WASA staff was using non-scientific ways to chlorinate water. Besides this, shortage of chlorine has also increased the risk of contagious diseases among the citizens using non chlorinated tap water.

The WASA is producing over 500 million gallon per day to the citizens through its over 425 tube wells.

Sources claimed that some four years back, the agency installed about 130 chlorinators at a cost of Rs 49,000 each but due to improper and inadequate maintenance most of them went out of order. Sources claimed that more chlorinators were not purchased and makeshift arrangements had been made.

Officials said chlorine was used for the purification of drinking water and killing harmful bacteria and contaminants in it. They said the WASA used chlorine at all of its tube-wells for the purpose but for the past several months the agency was facing a shortage of chlorinators.

Another senior WASA official said water purification was the process of removing contaminants from a raw water source i.e. particulate sand, suspended particles of organic material, Parasites, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, bacteria, algae, virus, fungi etc.

The official was of the view that in the absence of a proper chlorinator, the WASA used non-scientific methods to chlorinate water, which may expose the people to various other water-borne diseases such as hepatitis, dysentery and cholera.

He said that the excessive or less use of chlorine might cause sever harm to health of human beings.

Dr Nusrat Hashmi, a water expert, said the absence of chlorine in water especially in rainy season could result in serious health hazards for the people.

He said chlorination was the most common disinfectant because it was a strong oxidant that killed many micro-organisms. He said improper use of chlorine in water was one of the main dangers to the human health.

This scribe tried to contact WASA Managing Director Dr Javed Iqbal and deputy managing director for comment but both did not attend calls on their cell phones.